View report page

41
cases through the agency of contaminated food or drink, special enquiries were
made as to those articles of diet,—such as shell-fish, fried fish, watercress, etc.—
that are most liable to contamination by the organism of this disease. It was
found that amongst the seventeen cases, one had been in the habit of eating
mussels and fried fish. One had fried fish regularly once or twice a week and
celery occasionally. Another was fond of fried fish and raw fruit, and one liked
both of these with the addition of watercress; one was a fried fish eater only
and another of watercress only; seven were gluttons for raw fruit, one of whom
added watercress to his bill of fare. Four children of one family in King
Edward's Road bought fruit from a coster's stall on The Green and used celery
from their own garden. In two cases there was no direct evidence ; in one of
these at Bush Hill Park illness followed a visit in the country, where he
drank well-water.
The case at Goodwin Road had been "hopping" in Kent. The man
at Folkestone Road had been waiting on the Belgian refugees at Alexandra
Palace, Wood Green. Case 361 was an immigrant from Canada where the
disease contracted, whilst case 645 was suddenly removed to a general hospital
where he underwent an abdominal section for peritonitis.
Cerebro-Spinal Fever and Acute Polio-Myelitis.—On my
advice, these diseases were made permanently notifiable in Edmonton on 9th
March, 1912.
There were no notifications of cerebro-spinal fever.
I received three notifications of acute polio-myelitis. They were notified
in June, September and November, in three different localities ; one male of 14
months and two females of 2 years.
ENFIELD AND EDMONTON JOINT ISOLATION
HOSPITAL.
This is situated on 27 acres of land in the Enfield District, on its
Winchmore Hill border, and adjoining the large Convalescent Hospital of the
Metropolitan Asylums Board. It consists of an administrative block, nine
blocks of wards, discharge blocks, porter's lodge, mortuary, laundry and
disinfecting station, and a bungalow. Blocks V. and VI. and the bungalow are
constructed of wood and galvanised iron; all the other buildings are of a
permanent character. The bungalow, which was formerly used as sleeping
quarters for the staff, has since the addition of 16 beds to the administrative
block, been used as a store-house and sewing-room. It has been moved from
west of the administrative block to north of the cubicle block. In 1910, a wellequipped
bacteriological laboratory was fitted ujp in the mortuary building. A